First, no player two years into his NFL career should be in “best ever” discussions. But Cushing said “could,” so we will consider the topic. It will be difficult for Watt, a defensive tackle who is listed as a defensive end in the Texans’ 3-4 front, to surpass Lawrence Taylor. The former New York Giant was not only dominant, he changed the game to where outside linebackers became elite rushers. Trend-setters get extra credit in every “best ever” debate.

The AP asked the voters to re-vote this week after it was revealed that Cushing tested positive for a performance enhancing drug last September, the first month of his rookie year. Cushing received 18 votes in balloting that concluded earlier Wednesday, beating Buffalo defensive back Jarius Byrd, who received 13. The voters vote for only one player.

Cushing received 39 of the 50 votes in the initial vote at the end of the 2009 season. In that vote, Byrd received six votes.

Not going to lie, I was surprised by Wednesday’s result, probably because of how much backlash there had been in some media circles in the past couple of days, with high-profile writers like Peter King from Sports Illustrated arguing for the award to be taken from Cushing. Like I wrote here yesterday, I don’t have a vote (nor do my Denver Post colleagues) but had I re-voted, I would have switched away from Cushing.

So tell me, was this the right final result? Does Cushing still deserve the award, or is still tainted? Should the way these winners are selected be changed? Tell us what you think in the comments here or by replying to @postbroncos on Twitter.

Nicki Jhabvala is a Broncos beat writer for The Denver Post. She was previously the digital news editor for sports. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor. She also spent two years as a home page editor at the New York Times.